Monday night, supporters made their argument for a $2.5-million-project that would build a 6,450-square-foot senior center at the corner of Boutelle and Muddy Pond roads.

But it was not to be at this meeting, as the project came up just short of the needed two-thirds majority.

“Let’s do it right the first time,” Selectman Ron Furmaniuk told voters as many voiced their support for the project.

The proponents had traveled a long road over the past decade, including exploring buildings to purchase, and narrowly losing a vote in a special town meeting last fall.

This incarnation, however, fell four votes short, with the 217 in favor not able to meet the needed 221 votes, or two-thirds of the 332 who voted; 115 voted against.

As Moderator Richard Sheppard started to move on to the next article, numerous voters stood to request a recount, which led to a six-vote margin, again shy of the threshold needed for approval.

More people, perhaps aware that every vote did indeed count, participated in the recount, but the tally of 226 in support, weighed against the 122 against, still failed to the reach the two-thirds vote — 232 of the 348 who voted — necessary to spend on such a capital item. A total of 411 voters had checked in for the first night of town meeting; many left immediately after the vote on the senior center, when the moderator called for a short break.

Several people expressed concerns about the cost.

Finance Committee objections related to the building being a senior center as opposed to a senior and community center.

John Kilcoyne said if the project were a combination building, it might have gained the board’s support. But with a projected $2 million to be needed for the renovation of the 1832 town hall into a community center, finance advisers backed away from the senior center plan.

The board had initially planned to offer a counterproposal, at just under $2 million, but members made it clear that plan would be tabled, leaving the $2.5 million project on the table as voters debated the merits of the new building.

Kilcoyne said the cost for the new center would be a maximum of about $68 a year for the average home, dropping over time.

Selectman Paul Sushchyk noted the existing senior center space on the ground floor of the Butterick municipal building “was never intended as a long-term solution.” He urged voters to consider the plan. “It will only enhance the sense of community this town has.”

Supporters stressed the building could serve not only as senior center but community center and be used for intergenerational activities, meetings, even voting, moving polls from the school building.

Maureen Cranson, co-chairman of the building committee, said the proposal was the result of compromise “that can only enhance the offerings of our town.”

Frank Kennedy, of Diversified Project Management, the firm working on the project for the town building committee, noted the number of senior citizens in town had outpaced children, rising from 911 in 2000 to 1,811 in 2012.

Kennedy detailed the conceptual plan, with a multi-purpose room, kitchen lobby and meeting space and activity space, as well as an opportunity to easily expand in the future.

Bill Nash, noting he was a senior, urged his fellow voters to support the project, arguing to “give the seniors a chance.” He noted the town had spent on school buildings as well as a police station.

“Some of these people have paid taxes for 50 or 60 years, and yet we’re going to turn our backs on them,” Nash said if voters turned down the project.

Voters did approve a $21.4 million town budget. The budget included $9.03 million for the town operating budget and $10.56 million to fund public and vocational education costs.

Two nights to finish

When 194 voters returned Tuesday night to complete town business, they picked up at article 16 and completed the 57-article warrant, largely by tabling many articles.

Among those were several articles that would have reduced the size of the Wachusett Regional School Committee and made changes in town government organization.

But voters did ask selectmen to petition the state legislature to protect Wekepeke water.

The vote seeks to have the state Legislature prevent commercial bottling of water from land owned by the Town of Clinton. Nestlé had previously expressed interest in bottling the water.

Clinton, for its part, has indicated it will stop making in-lieu of taxes payments on the property, which is already protected by a conservation restriction, and would fight any legislative attempt to restrict use of the water, which has served as Clinton’s backup water supply.

Voters tabled articles that would have required voters at an election decide on capital expenditures over $300,000, as well as articles affecting the form of government, having the DPW board report to selectmen and several other articles as they completed work on the 57-article warrant.

Tabling a proposed change to the Wachusett Regional School District agreement regarding the size of the School Committee effectively was a disapproval, adding to Paxton’s disapproval and guaranteeing the plan to shrink the Wachusett School Committee would be defeated since four of the five towns in the district must approve any changes to the agreement.

During Monday night’s work, voters approved a major revision of the town personnel bylaw, but only after voters grilled the Personnel Committee on the changes and received assurances that any positions added or substantially changed would come back to town meeting for action.

“There is no material change in the relationship to any of the town boards or town meeting,” Personnel Committee Chairman Jed Lindholm said. “Any material changes to any job in town would come to town meeting.”

Human Resources Director Don Jacobs tried to explain that any change in hours would have to be in the budget, which is approved by town meting, but voters clarified they expected changes not to be hidden in line items but to be clearly brought to town meting.

In other business, voters approved a 2.2 percent increase in town employees’ wages for those on the wage schedule and approved a one-year dispatch union contact that gives the dispatchers the same increase.

Voters added a position of a meal site coordinator, initially funded primarily by unused funds from old articles.

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